Thursday, March 6, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.
For the past dozen years or so, the Big West Conference has been considered by many to be the premier collegiate baseball conference in the West.
According to UNLV head coach Rod Soesbe, that all changes this season -- and it has little to do with the fact the Rebels begin their first season in the Western Athletic Conference Friday with a home doubleheader against BYU.
"I think the balance in the WAC is going to be real good and I think it's going to be as good as the Big West was," Soesbe said.
"What's changed that is that we go into the conference, Rice goes into the conference, TCU goes into the conference and San Jose State has played awfully good and they're going into the conference. When you brought those four teams in, it gave the WAC an automatic (NCAA Tournament) qualifier, so you know it strengthened the WAC."
The 12 WAC baseball schools will be divided into three divisions. BYU, affiliate member Grand Canyon University, Utah and Air Force will form the North Division; Rice, UNLV, Texas Christian and New Mexico comprise the South Division; and Fresno State, San Diego State, Hawaii and San Jose State make up the West Division.
UNLV was picked to finish second in its division in a poll of WAC coaches. Rice was the unanimous pick to win the South, receiving all 11 first-place votes. TCU was picked to finish third and New Mexico fourth.
Although BYU is not in UNLV's division, this weekend's three-game set takes on the importance of an intradivision series because of the WAC's new postseason format. The 1997 season will conclude with a six-team tournament featuring the three division winners and the next three teams with the best winning percentage in conference play.
UNLV heads into the series against BYU (4-2) with a 12-6 record that includes 10 wins in its past 11 games. The Rebels are hitting a robust .322 as a team and have a respectable staff earned-run average of 4.78.
Three-time All American third baseman Ryan Hankins has led the Rebels offensively with a .424 average, three home runs and 21 RBIs, but he certainly has not carried the workload by himself. Outfielder Ryan Ludwick is hitting .384 with four home runs and a team-leading 25 RBIs; first baseman Kevin Eberwein is hitting .349 with two home runs and 14 RBIs; and outfielder Chris Adolph it hitting .338 with three home runs and 17 RBIs.
UNLV will stick with its established starting rotation for the BYU series. Junior right-hander Jerimiah Tipton (1-1, 5.34) will start Friday's first game; senior right-hander Tista Perri (3-1, 5.10) will start Friday's nightcap; and sophomore right-hander Mike Zipser (3-1, 2.86) will get the nod in Saturday's series finale.
The Rebels will take on BYU without two players Soesbe was counting on to return from injuries. Second baseman Sean Campbell has been bothered by a sore shoulder and center fielder Nate Smith is nursing a sore knee.
Although Soesbe had moved Hankins from third to second in Campbell's absence, Hankins will return to third this weekend and freshman Clay Belding will get the start at second base. Soesbe had tried Belding and freshman Andy McCulloch at third when Hankins moved to second, but he thinks the team in stronger with Hankins at the corner as Belding at second.
After opening WAC play this weekend, the Rebels will travel to Tempe, Ariz., for a two-game nonconference series against 11th-ranked Arizona State on Tuesday and Wednesday. UNLV returns home next Friday to take on second-ranked Rice in a three-game conference series.
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